Fire extinguishing system



Nov. 2, 1937. s. E. ALLEN FIRE EXTINGUISHING SYSTEM Filed Jan. 10, 1936 mvEN-ron 'corr f.' Auf/v BY l f WAT-renna! Patented Nov. 2, 1937 mausi-ATE y man .ExTnyGmsmNGsYs'rEM `sala-E; Auen, Glen mage, N, Lasagne; t0

C-O-'lwo` Fire EquipmentCompany, Newark; I

J., acorporation of Delaware l Application January 10, 1936Serial No. 58,446

.4 Claims.

materials of which aircraft are usually' built, it

is essential .that the reibe extinguished immediately. In the-case ofv airp1anesfor instance, the wings, fuselage, rudders, elevators, etc. are often made merely of wood coveredwith linen, silk, cotton fabric or the like, treated `with lacquer to present a smoothsurface to the air currents, and for protecting such highly combustible material distributed about a hangar which in some cases is very large, the ordinary fire extinguishing systems are entirely inadequate. It is impracti` cable to attempt to protect the aircraft vby discharge of re extinguishing fluid from the walls of the hangar since such protection could not be extended more than a few feet from the walls. On the other hand, if the fire extinguishing fluid were discharged from the rafters or ceiling of the building it would have to oppose the air currents set up by the re and before sufficient of the extinguisher could be introduced in the hangar to smother out the flames, the damage would have been accomplished.

In the case of an airplane are, the blaze may be shielded by the wings so that a gaseous extinguisher discharged from above would not reach the blaze and would not prevent the latter from being fed with air sucked up by the fire. Since the air currents usually rise to the fire, it is preferable to discharge the extinguisher from beneath so that the gas will be carried up to the blaze by the natural draft produced by the fire.

An object of my invention, therefore, is to provide a system employing carbon dioxide or other highly compressed extinguishing fluid in which the fluid is discharged in the form of a, gas from outlets in the floor of the hangar or other enclosure.

Another object `oi.' the invention is to provide.

vfor horizontal spread of the fire extinguisher Y along the floor.

Another object of the invention is to provide means for raising a cover bodily to such position that it will not interfere with the lateral spread of extinguisher. Y

Other objects and advantages of my invention will appear in the following description of an embodiment thereof and thereafter the novelty and scope o'f the invention will be pointed out in the claims. A

In the accompanying drawing;

Figure 1 is a view in cross-section of .a hangar equipped with my improved fire extinguishing apparatus, showing a plurality of iioor outlets adapted to be connected with a sourceof extinguishing uid; and

Fig. 2 is a detail view in vertical section and on arlarger scale of one of the floor outlets.

A hangar protected bymy improved fire extinguishing apparatus is indicated in Fig. l by the numeral III. In this hangar"are shown a plu' rality of airplanes II. Ata suitable point outside of the hangar there is a supply of iire ex- Ytinguishing uid preferably stored in a battery of containers. However, only one of the containers is shown at I2 in the drawing. A suitable discharge mechanism I3 is provided for releasing the fluid from the containers and discharging it into a pipe Asystem I4. This pipe system passes under the floor I5 of the hangar and is provided with a plurality of outlets I6 that open respectively into recessed expansion chambers formed in said oor.

At each outlet the pipe is provided with a T- fitting I8. An upwardly extending tubular member or cylinder I9 is screwed into the fitting and at its upper end is provided with an annular cap 29. The expansion chamber is normally closed by a cover or lid 22 which when in closed position lies flush with the iioor I5. This cover is provided With a downwardly extending stem 23 which passes through the cap 20 and into the cylinder I9. The stem 423 has a flange or collar 24 secured to its lower endwhich has a running fit within the cylinder I9. The stem 23 is formed with a central bore, open at the bottom and closed at the top, and lateral ports 25 open outwardly from the bore.

In operation, when extinguishing fluid under pressure is introduced into the pipe I 4, it lifts the cover 22 to the position shown by broken lines in Fig. 2 and discharges in all directionsthrough the ports 25. The jets of extinguishing fluid issuing from the lower ports 25 strike against the side wall of the expansion chamber I6 and there is considerable expansion of the iiuld before it rises out of the chamber. This fluid, as it issues from the chamber is batied by the lid 22 and is projected substantially horizontally by the jets fromA the ports 25 that have risen above the ioor level. 'I'he -`iluid is thus widely expanded and forms billows of gas that'may be picked upl by suction of the re. The lid 22 serves the dual entrainment of air.

The cap coacts with the flange 24 to limit the rise of the cover. vWhen the supply of extinguishing uid nears depletion and thepressure falls the cover will drop by gravity to closed position. The outlets are therefore self-closing as well as self-opening so that after a re or a test operation of the extinguishing system the floor will be restored automatically to normal condition with no projecting lids or open cavities to trip the attendants. Y

My invention is peculiarly adapted for the protection of hangars,' but it is equally applicable to other enclosures and also to open areas, such as the decks of ships, air-craft carriers, etc., on which highly iniiammable cargo or apparatus is stored. T'he term iloor as used in the lclaims is to be interpreted as comprising any supporting surface.

I wish it to be understood that the embodiment described above is to be taken as illustrative and not limitative of my invention and that I reserve the right to make such changes in form," construction, and arrangement of parts as fall within the spirit and scope of the following claims.

I claim:

1. A method of extinguishing re in a space having a Iioor which consists in discharging below the oor level jets of lire extinguishing iluid liqueed under pressure,vexpanding the liquid -into a gas, discharging the expanding gas into the ilre by suction produced by the re.

3. In a nre extinguishing system a. floor outlet for a iire extinguishing uid liquefied under pressure, said outlet comprising an expansion cham- "ber, a lid normally closing the top of the chamber, a cylinder, atubular plunger slidableV in the cylinder and s'ecured at its upper end to the lid but open at its lower endto the cylinder, means for leading the extinguishing uid under pressure to the cylinder to raise the lid, and means for limiting the rise of the lid, the plunger being formed with lateral discharge ports in position to discharge the uid laterally into the-expansion chamber when the plunger is in raised position.

4. In a ilre extinguishing system a floor outlet for a re extinguishing fluid liqueed under pressure, said outlet comprising an expansion chamber, a lid normally closing the top of the chamber, a cylinder, a tubular plunger slidable in the cylinder and secured at its upper end to the lid the plunger being open at its lower end to the cylinder, means for leading the extinguishing fluid under pressure to the cylinder to raise the lid, and means for (limiting the rise of the lid, the plunger being formed with lateral discharge ports, certain of which, when the plunger is raised. will be in position to discharge part of the fluid laterally into the expansion chamber and others of which will be above the chamber in position to spread horizontally the uid discharging from the chamber.

. SCO'I'I E. ALLEN. 

